Dr. Sara Olin Zimmerman, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, is retiring at the end of the semester after 30 years of working in the Reich College of Education (RCOE) at Appalachian State University.
During her tenure, Zimmerman taught over 50 different undergraduate and graduate courses and served the university and college in multiple roles:
- Interim Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction,
- Program Director of the elementary education program, and
- Most recently, Program Director of the Master of Arts in Curriculum Specialist program, which was ranked twelfth nationally in Curriculum and Instruction online programs by U.S. News & World Report 2022.
Additionally, she had opportunities to collaborate, teach, write, and travel to Ethiopia, Mexico, Iraq, Poland, Russia, and China on behalf of the College.
She was also the recipient of the Board of Governors’ College Teaching Award in 1996-97, the Student Government Association Outstanding Teacher Award in 1999-2000, and the Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award in 2010-2011.
“I served with wonderful colleagues who are dedicated, creative, and extremely knowledgeable,” she noted.
“Students forced me out of my comfort zone, challenged my views, and required me to perform far beyond my perceived abilities, and I owe them for teaching me what a teacher should be,” noted Zimmerman. “A student once wrote, “I hope to follow in your footsteps and ‘pay it forward.’”
“I now move on to focus on the larger perspective of life,” she added.
Sara Zimmerman
